Two things I like

Yes, there is still no knitting progress to report. Tonight I actually had a few free hours in the evening, but decided to go to Walgreens instead of knitting. Because, you know, no toothpaste and no TP. Okay, I still have a few rolls of TP, but I didn’t have toothpaste for even one more brushing.

Work has been keeping me “busy.” Sigh…

I hope these posts are making it clear that I’m not just a knitting machine ;).

Anyway…

I got a craftalog (more like crapalog) in the mail today, and for once I saw something that I really liked!

Is it just me, or is this not that bad? Both the colors and the design sit well with me, and, you know, this would make a cute throw for the couch!

I also want to tell you about something else I really like. There is a sock design out there that had me captivated from the first time I saw it – Craftoholic Steph’s Mata Hari socks. I feel rude swiping the photo without asking her, so click on the link if you haven’t seen them before. I actually first encountered these socks on Jo’s site. Hers came out really lovely and prompted my sock crush, so check out the ones she made if you’re so inclined.

Anyway, the issue is that these won’t work for my grandma, nor for my sock pal, and really, I want these for me ;).

The real issue is, of course, yarn, since I prefer to have no wool on my feet. In other words, 0% wool, even those cotton/wool blend fingering weight yarns aren’t my first choice. Diana and I are two peas in a pod when it comes to this issue, and we are always on the lookout for good non-animal yarns to knit socks.

However, I haven’t looked around too much lately, and I bet there are new yarns out there that would make a good Mata Hari pair.

My question to you: any suggestions (other than elann equivalent, and Fortissima Cotton) for non-animal (absolutely no wool) fingering weight yarns which would work for socks? Cotton, linen, silk, elastic, and synthetic materials are all fine. Yarn must have at least a little bit of give and memory, of course, to make good socks.

Edited to add: and also other than Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy – thank you to those who told me about it – I’m now aware that it exists.

That blanket has possibilities… I can see knitting the leaf squares on the bias and alternating the way they’re angled.

And, I like seed stitch… it’s my favorite textured stitch. Of course… I’m a Continental knitter, so switching back and forth between knits and purls isn’t nearly as much of a workout as it is with English style knitting. I can see how that much seed stitch would be a nightmare the other way.

What??!!??! Blue Moon has cotton sock yarn?!!??!! Off to purchase some for those of us with the most delicate of feet 😉 Oh, and great afghan pattern. I’d change the colors to orange and wine, of course.

I’m in search for some cotton yarn as well though I can’t give any advice. This may sound strage, but how about bamboo? I have no clue how it would wear, but alchemy has a sock pattern for their bamboo so Im guessing it’s possible.

i don’t care for that color mix on the blankie but i was just looking at that leaf tip cluster pattern in a pattern stash i just inherited. i love leaf patterns anyway. can’t wait to see what you’ll do with that blankie.

There is a new yarn called Wick by, K1C2,that is soy and polypropolyne fibers blend that “wicks” the moisture away. It is not sock weight though, but apparently works well for socks. I plan to try this yarn as my sister is wool allergic and I think she has grown tired of the usual cotton or cotton elastic socks. Here’s a link if you want to take a peek:

I recently purchased a couple pairs of socks from Target made of 100% bamboo, and I love them. The bamboo reduces moisture too. They are very soft, and wash well. I’m new to sock knitting (working on my first pair with Koigu right now), and I hope I can find some bamboo yarn that would be appropriate to make socks with. Maybe someone out there has a bamboo yarn suggestion?

Maybe Katia Mississippi. I don’t think it’s as soft as the merino but I have used it for sweaters for my girls and it held up well through many washings. The color stayed and the shape as well. I haven’t used it for socks yet but it could work.

I like using Calmer for socks when I’m knitting for the wool-phobic feet. It’s heavier than fingering weight, but it works really well knit up tighter than ball-band gauge. The stretchiness gives it a big leg up over pure cotton yarns (imho) and it’s super buttery & soft on the feet.

That afghan should be burned, no, I take that back – save it just long enough to copy down the leaf motif which is it’s only saving grace and then send it directly to You knit what? where it belongs.

And on a less judgmental note, I love the mata hari socks – thanks for a great find/link! I’m liking the idea of the bamboo yarn that everyone here is talking about – I’ll be curious to see if you use it and like it!

have you tried regia silk? i’m not actually sure if it’s available in the US (i have some that came via a swap with a knitter in germany) – it’s absolutely gorgeous stuff, comes in solids. worth a shot.

Hey, Grumperina, thanks in part to your blogposts about sewing, I finally got to know my sewing machine & got over my sewing phobia! I made a really, really simple skirt (2 pieces of fabric, no darts, just an elastic/drawstring waist, two side seams, and a blind hem).

Halycon Yarns has several sport weight cottons that you might take a look at. “Casco Bay” is one sport weight that I’ve used and liked. It’s a little ‘hard on the hands’, but not as bad as some cottons. But it might be a little heavy/large for a good sock yarn. It’s put up in 400 yd mini cones

“Block Island” in the new catalogue looks interesting – it’s Cotton, Rayon and Hemp. Recommended gauge is 7 spi on US3s so it’s a possibility. I haven’t knit with it, though. It comes in 175 yd mini cones.

They carry a lot of colors of Cottolin (60% cotton, 40% linen). It’s really lace weight, but you could carry it doubled. Email me with your address and I’ll send you some out of my weaving stash so you can sample with it.

I’ve been thinking of you and the blanket since you posted it. I never would have picked it as a Grumperina project. To me, the colours look too random–like a stash project. The middle seed stitch (?) section looks like the knitter ran out of patience to knit the rest of the leaves squares. The border looks like “Oops, I miscalcuated” or “Shoot, they said their room was Grey and green”.

I do see you having fun with the leaf motifs. It’s neat how they work. But the rest—I don’t know, Grumpy. Now…maybe you can find a way to turn it into a circular spiral blanket with vines radiating from the center…

Oh, and you know all the math you did on the beach ball blanket? There is a program Knitware that will do it for you. You can download free demo versions of their different programs, and they work really well, you just can’t save patterns. One is for shawls, afghans, ponchos….in various versions of circles!

that’s a riot — Crapalog. How true it is. I really enjoyed all of the feed back on the sock yarns. I was just starting to reserch cotton for socks and this info. is HELPFULL. KOIGU is a great yarn for socks. The colors are gorgeous and they knit up to feel so soft. When washing wool socks use Eucalan and they dry better than new. Edna Hart